~ My Journey

Monthly Archives: July 2011

After months and months of considerations and a million trillion hours of research and decision-making, our family will be starting our homeschooling adventure this fall. Our oldest will be entering kindergarten, and with the current insanity we face due to my husband’s job (we’re looking at a possible two moves in the next year, both to a different state, and then to a different country), we have decided that this is one way we can limit the amount of stress, adjustment she has to go through. Plus, this should help us limit “school loss” (ie. the number of days she’ll miss during the actual moves, missing core lessons due to changing schools, etc.) and my husband and I can be in control of her learning environment during this transition period. We haven’t decided what we’ll do past this year – that is a decision best left far in the future at this point. I have to say, I’ve gotten a lot better these past few months in being able to leaving decisions where they need to be, and only taking on “today’s burdens.” And I’m actually okay living one day at a time right now, which is a miracle in itself. (All right, sometimes I prefer one week at a time, I admit.)

And for those of you that are curious, I do plan on leaving my youngest in her current preschool at least until we move from here. She’s happy there and learning a ton, it keeps her out of my hair while I teach the oldest and we do activities she’s not mature enough for yet, and also gives her own bit of stability a bit longer. (I say all that to just point out that I have no issues with regular schools and childcare facilities. Each parent has to make their own decisions and choose their own path.)

So to follow-up with that lead up, this week begins a time of strong prayer and reflection for me. Part of the reason we chose to do this is because we want to make sure our girls have a really true strong foundation in Christ at a really young age.

This was my status on Facebook today (and my first “public declaration” about our homeschooling: “We’re about to start our homeschooling adventure in just four weeks. (I know, I can’t believe I just said that either.) Please pray for us as we prepare to begin this journey. I plan to be spending a lot of this time in prayer so that I can get my mind open to God – He’s the best Teacher of them all, so I figure listening to His advice will help!”

In my prayers:

1) That God open my heart and mind to Him and to my child. That He can show me the best way to impart “education” to her brain so that she really learns. That He can show me how to be the best conduit to Him for her that I can be.

2) That God will prepare me emotionally and physically for this new journey.

3) That God will help me manage my time as wisely as possible. Homeschooling is going to take up the time I’ve been using to deal with other things, and I’ll need to get more done in less time, or just do less. That He will guide me in what are the best, most beneficial uses of my time.

4) That in the next four weeks, God will help me be super monstrously productive and get tons and tons and tons of things done, so there is less on my plate when homeschooling time starts.

On top of this prayer time, I have a terribly long To Do list, piles and stacks of paperwork, email boxes that are maxed out with emails needed to be answered, projects that I’d love to complete. I plan to plow and push and force my way through this list, and prep my little “school” area in the next four weeks.

In Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be, Day 8 talks about being consciously selective, about being careful about the choices you make and not letting life just happen to you.

If we’re going to become the women God wants us to be, we’re going to have to begin being consciously selective, which means we ask ourselves questions like: Is this the best use of my time, money, energy, and resources? Is this God’s highest and best for me? Is it the healthiest thing for my spirit, soul, and body? … Do my daily choices reflect my true values or am I taking the path of least resistance simply to avoid the hard work of making conscious selections?

This paragraph really hit the nail on the head for me this morning, and is my prayer and contemplation for the rest of the day.

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The Proverbs 31 Woman (nasb)

Description of a Worthy Woman

An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
"Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all."
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.